Thursday, May 10, 2012

Five Ways Social Media can Make or Break Your Job Search!


Good Morning Internet People!  Before I get started I need to do a shameless internet plug.  Capstone Search Group (My employer) has recently reworked it’s Facebook page.  We are going to be offering a lot of good stuff including:
  • Career tips
  • Top Jobs
  • Pictures of me!
  • Important Announcements
Please take a moment to check out our Facebook page and like it!  You can find it here:


Today I want to talk about social networking and how it can affect your job search.  Looking back at the past decade or so it is really amazing to see what an impact social networking and the internet in general has had on the act of looking for a job.  When I got started in this almost a decade ago things were really different.  For starters, fax machines were still considered an effective mode of communication… today that seems as silly as mail delivered by horse or for that matter, by a person.  People still looked for jobs in the newspaper and job hunting on the internet truly consisted of posting your resume on a job board and responding to job postings on the job boards – ultimately it was really no different than posting something in the paper except it reached more people and was faster.

Just think... It used to just be "Hello.  You've got Mail!


About five years ago one of my trusted acquaintances called me and told me that I needed to check out this LinkedIn thing.  I’ll be honest – I didn’t get it.  To me it seemed like it was a searchable database of people that wanted to be noticed – essentially it was a neat way to show up on Google.  Like most people I created a profile and connected to people – but I didn’t really do anything else.  Then came this thing called Twitter.  It was all the rage and I didn’t really buy into it.  It seemed like most of the tweets were about mundane daily things.  It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that I had a watershed moment.  I was listening to an NPR news story (please don’t judge – I know that this makes me not very cool) about Twitter and it shared an example of how a company made a hire on Twitter.  The company was a tech firm that was doing work late on a Friday night.  They needed someone with a specific technical skill and sent out a tweet to the twitterverse asking who was working on something like this on a Friday night at 10:00.  Several people responded and they ended up hiring someone.  It dawned on me – Social Media is a tool that you can actively use to get a job. 


Here’s the deal.  There is a lot of stuff out there about how your Facebook page can hurt you and how employers are using it to screen people.  If that is the case – why aren’t you taking the time to make social media a tool that will help you?  I truly believe that more than half of the employers out there if not more check out future employees on social media.  Here’s the kicker -  they aren’t going there to disqualify you.  They are going there because they want to know what kind of person you are – it’s because they are excited about you and they are probably disappointed when they find out that there is no public information.  I suggest that you embrace this and make it something that will land you the job!  Here are five things to keep in mind when you are working in this arena:

1.  Use it to Brand Yourself
Social Media is really cool because you can reinvent yourself.  Say for instance that there is a really competitive market for getting into pizza delivery.  You can shape your posts and profiles to make you appear as a pizza delivery guy.  Change your Facebook profile picture to show you in your Domino’s or Pizza Hut uniform – make your posts on Facebook about pizza delivery.  Join groups on LinkedIn about the industry.  Not everything you do has to be about that industry but if you let it be your guiding force people will begin to associate you with it.  Here is the other important part of the branding.  You need to make yourself look like a real person – share things about your life.  Just use caution and keep those late night pictures off of the internet. 

2.  Set Yourself up as an Expert
This is an extension of the branding to a degree.  However, instead of just talking about your industry or profession you should give your opinion (Just make sure that it is informed and not too controversial).  If you read an article about your industry – share it and share why you liked it.  Get on places like LinkedIn and answer questions that others ask.  Remember this – experts don’t become experts because they call themselves one.  They become experts because others value and respect their opinion and knowledge on a subject.  The goal is to make people believe you are an expert.  Whatever you do – DO NOT call yourself an expert – you will look stupid.

3.  Announce Your Accomplishments
As you build your network make sure that you are updating people on what you are doing.  You need to post and share with others when you get that big promotion, finish a big project or get a designation.  People remember seeing these things and it will elevate you in their minds.  Just remember that there is a difference between announcing and bragging. Be gracious and humble.

4.  Connect to the People you Want to Emulate
First and foremost I feel that you social network should include a wide range of people from different backgrounds.  You should connect with your friends, co-workers, family and business relations.  The reason is the Kevin Bacon factor – you just never know who that person knows and how it could help you.  However, I don’t think you can solely rely on random occurrences to have success.  You need to do it on purpose.  So – it is important to seek out people that you want to be like and connect to them.  Look for the top pizza deliverers in the nation and connect to them.  This can only help you as there is a higher likelihood that they will know more people that can help you out in the future.  As my boss always says “Ducks fly with Ducks!”

5.  Ask for Information – Not a Job!
We live in a society that values directness at face value even though it seems to make us uncomfortable.  This is really true when it comes to issues of employment.  If you ask someone to help you get a job it usually doesn’t work out very well.  Similarly if you ask people if they know of anyone hiring they almost immediately say no – our brains aren’t wired to recall things.  Instead, ask people for their opinion and information.  If you are getting ready to interview with a company and are connected to someone in that company don’t ask – How do I get hired? – instead asked them – Why do you like working for the company? – What skills does the company value?  - this will get you a lot farther.  Instead of asking people who is hiring – ask instead “What companies do you think are the best to work for?  - the person will start thinking about it and give you their opinion – if they know of a place that is hiring it will jog their memory and they will share it too!

Bonus – What Not to do
So – I know that this goes without saying but here is a quick laundry list of what you should avoid:
  • Political statements – I don’t care how right you are – offending people does not help you improve your career
  • Airing Dirty Laundry – If you are fighting with someone or have a beef – leave it off of Facebook – companies will assume that you will bring this drama to work too
  • Excessive Partying – Look – I’m not against this and I don’t think you have to get rid of all of it.  Just make sure that if you have 500 pictures on your Facebook account that at least 5 or 6 of them aren’t from the bar – make yourself look well rounded
  • Innapropriate comments – sexism, racism, comments about others religion don’t help you – again offending people won’t always hurt your career but it certainly won’t help
  • Complaining about your job – if I need to explain  this one…
  • Complaining about your job search or your life in general – no one likes a negative nelly


So…What do you guys think?  Please let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an email at sthompson@insurance-csg.com!

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